Barrel Aged Spiced Negroni

I thought that a “barrel-aged” cocktail would be appropriate to pair with these puzzles. Barrel aging should be a fairly familiar concept to most people, since even people who don’t drink alcohol have often heard about how wine or spirits are typically stored and aged. The process of placing wine or spirits into a wooden barrel is fairly straightforward and can easily be understood in historical context for storage and transport purposes (the earliest vessels for wine were made of clay). However the chemical process of barrel aging is highly scientific and interesting. Barrel aging slowly imparts oxygen, adds flavor, aroma and finish, and reduces the harsh ethanol content over time, resulting in smoother and more desirable characteristics. Depending on the spirit, there may be rules in play as well for barrel aging. For example, bourbon is by law only supposed to be aged in newly charred American Oak barrels. These are then used to age and flavor other spirits after, like cognac, sherry, or even wine.

Like so many things, it gets better with age

Barrel aging cocktails is another creative way to change the flavor and texture of a drink. There are plenty of examples of technically barrel aged cocktails in the archives, such as the “Swedish Punsch” mixture of Batavia Arak mixed with tea and spices that Swedish merchants would enjoy on the long sea journey home in the seventeenth century. But the modern concept of a barrel aged cocktail can be traced to Jeff Morgenthaler, the creative force behind many modern classics cocktails. He took an idea he saw in 2010 at a high concept bar in London, and modified it in a truly American way. The result, his Clyde Common barrel aged Negroni, was an instant success and ignited a global trend. I’ve created a spiced Negroni, adding a touch of ginger liqueur and allspice dram to the mix, and aging it for about 3 weeks to let things soften. Small barrels for home creativity will age drinks faster so you don’t have to wait as long. There’s also nothing quite as convenient as a premade cocktail. Class dismissed – cheers!

Having a ball with these barrels

Barrel Aged Spiced Negroni

(For a 750 ml barrel)

200 ml Bombay Sapphire or other juniper forward gin

200 ml Aperol amaro

200 ml Cocchi di Torino vermouth

50 ml Barrows Intense or other ginger liqueur

25 ml Besamim or other aromatic spiced liqueur such as allspice dram

Pour all ingredients into a cured oak barrel and wait approximately 3 weeks before decanting to a clean bottle. Enjoy over ice.

See all the puzzle from the series: